Senior Strategist

1000heads APAC is seeking a Senior Strategist to join their Strategy, Data & Social team in Sydney or Melbourne. This role acts as the second in command, supporting the Social Strategy Director in leading strategic thinking, team capability, and output quality. The Senior Strategist will own the 'why' behind the work, translating research, data, and platform understanding into robust strategies, content frameworks, and rollout plans for campaigns and always-on social activity. They will excel at shaping complex problems into clear, compelling strategic direction, interpreting data, and delivering actionable recommendations to clients and internal teams.

Must Have

• Lead comprehensive social-first strategy development
• Own strategic frameworks and content rollout plans
• Lead research and insight generation
• Apply advanced data visualisation techniques
• Deep knowledge of social/digital analytics and listening tools
• Interpret performance data for optimisation
• Deliver clear, actionable recommendations
• Oversee reporting frameworks (Excel, Google Slides)
• Lead compelling strategic narrative development
• Write best-in-class creative briefs
• Collaborate with creative teams for strategic integrity
• Lead cross-functional strategic planning
• Mentor junior strategists
• Support department leadership as 2IC
• 6-8 years in social media strategy or insight roles
• Proven leadership and strategic ownership
• Excellent storytelling, presentation, stakeholder management
• Deep expertise in major social platforms
• Strong experience developing data-backed social strategies
• Advanced ability to interpret and apply insights
• Experience across diverse industries and clients
• Knowledge of audience/insight tools (e.g., GWI)
• Experience developing research/measurement methodologies
• High attention to detail and quality control

Description

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The Strategy, Data & Social team at 1000heads answers critical questions that begin with WHY, are validated by WHAT the data tells us, and are delivered through HOW brands show up on social.

If you are curious by nature, driven to uncover meaningful insights, enjoy connecting data with creativity, and thrive on turning complexity into clear, engaging direction, you’ll fit right in.

The team is embedded within account teams across the agency, ensuring strategy, insight, and social expertise are applied at every key stage of the work, including:

• Strategic content, media, and campaign planning
• Audience definition, segmentation, and targeting
• Insight generation and data analysis to inform ideation
• Trend analysis, social listening, and cultural understanding
• Platform, channel, and social editorial expertise
• Client workshops, strategic frameworks, and alignment sessions
• KPI definition, measurement frameworks, and success metrics
• Paid media planning, activation, and optimisation
• Post-campaign evaluation, learning, and optimisation

In addition to integrated account support, the team delivers bespoke, stand-alone projects designed to help clients better understand their audience, brand, category, and social performance, combining strategic thinking, data-driven insight, and social-first expertise to drive stronger outcome.

SUMMARY OF THE ROLE WE’RE LOOKING TO FILL AT 1000HEADS APAC

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This role works closely with the Social Strategy Director and acts as the second in command (2IC) within the department, helping lead strategic thinking, team capability, and quality of output across the agency.

The role spans strategy and insights, owning the why behind our work and leading the translation of research, data, and platform understanding into robust strategies, frameworks, and content direction across campaigns and always-on social activity.

You excel at shaping complex problems into clear, compelling strategic direction. You’ll lead the development of social-first strategies, content frameworks, and rollout plans, grounded in research, social listening, cultural insight, and deep platform expertise.

You have a strong understanding of what good looks like on social and bring this perspective to analysis, reporting, and evaluation. You confidently interpret data beyond the numbers, turning insight into clear recommendations, optimisation opportunities, and strategic guidance for clients and internal teams.

You’ll lead the development of strong strategic narratives and creative briefs, inspiring creative, social, and account teams to deliver best-in-class social-first ideas. You’ll be comfortable presenting to senior stakeholders and acting as a trusted strategic advisor.

As 2IC, you’ll support the Social Strategy Director in:

• Setting strategic standards and ways of working
• Overseeing quality and consistency of strategic output
• Supporting team development, mentoring, and knowledge sharing
• Helping prioritise workload and resource needs across the department

RESPONSIBILITIES

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• Strategic development and support
• Lead the development of comprehensive social-first strategies for clients
• Own strategic frameworks, content pillars, and rollout plans across campaigns and always-on activity
• Act as a senior strategic lead across accounts and projects

• Research, insights generation, performance analysis & reporting
• Lead research and insight generation, including competitive audits, category research, and cultural trend mapping
• Apply advanced data visualisation beyond basic Excel functionality
• Bring deep knowledge of social and digital platform analytics and social listening tools
• Interpret performance data to evaluate effectiveness and drive optimisation
• Deliver clear, actionable recommendations based on insight and analysis
• Oversee the creation and evolution of reporting frameworks in Excel and Google Slides

• Creative Collaboration and Brief Writing
• Lead the development of clear, compelling strategic narratives
• Write and deliver best-in-class creative briefs that inspire social-first ideas
• Partner closely with creative teams to ensure strategic integrity throughout development and execution

• Cross-Functional Collaboration
• Lead and contribute to strategic planning with account, creative, social, and data teams
• Ensure alignment across all aspects of client work
• Mentor junior strategists and support skill development within the strategy team
• Support department leadership as 2IC, stepping in where required

Requirements

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• 6–8 years experience in social media strategy, planning, or insight-led roles
• Proven leadership capability and strategic ownership
• Excellent storytelling, presentation, and stakeholder management skills
• Deep expertise across major social platforms and their strategic applications
• Strong experience developing social strategies and frameworks backed by data
• Advanced ability to interpret, challenge, and apply insights
• Experience across multiple industries and complex client environments
• Knowledge of audience and insight tools (e.g. GWI) and broader data sources
• Experience developing research and measurement methodologies
• High attention to detail and quality control

Your first priority will be to do your job to the best of your abilities. Your second priority will be to help those around you to do their job to the best of their abilities.

This job description is not intended to cover everything that will be expected of you but rather to act as a guide and you may be required to get involved in other and reasonable ad hoc projects.